Cu Chi Tunnels among world’s most overrated tourist attractions

Reader`s Digest, a US general-interest family magazine has announced its list of World’s most overrated tourist attractions. Cu Chi Tunnels on the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh City has been ranked 16th among the world’s most overrated tourist attractions, released by Reader’s Digest.

Travel blogger and author Kelly Hayes-Raitt says though Cu Chi Tunnels is a fascinating maze, the tourist experiences feels like a gimmicky Disneyland. “The tunnels themselves in this area have been widened to accommodate larger westerners. When you’re there, make sure to visit the War Remnants Museum for an authentic look,” Kelly added.

Cu Chi tunnels are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The Cu Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War.

Earlier, Ho Chi Minh City has been ranked 5th among the 10 hot travel destinations that are expected to see the sharpest increase of tourist by 2025. The survey is based on data from Euromonitor to find out just which major cities will see the fastest percentage growth in tourist arrivals by 2025.

The city received more than 3.8 million international visitors in the first six months of 2018, 26.5% higher than in the same period last year, and reached 51% of this year's target, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism.

In 2017, the city welcomed more than six million international tourists, an increase of 22.8% from 2016, meeting 110% of the set plan. Total tourism revenue was approximately at VND116 trillion (US$5.11 billion), up 12.6% year-on-year and meeting the set plan. China was the biggest source of visitors, followed by South Korea, Japan, the US, Taiwan (China) and Russia.